Asian business are increasingly looking at Qatar for business opportunities in view of the strong macro fundamentals of the country and its open economy policy, according to the feedback received from the recent roadshows of the Qatar Financial Centre (QFC).
Having successfully concluding its roadshow in Asia, which included Taipei and Tokyo, the QFC said it is eager to see the new alliances with Taiwan and Japan and is looking forward to welcoming them to its platform.
The Taiwan roadshow witnessed the signing of agreements, panel discussions, numerous B2B meetings and networking events with professionals from distinguished Taiwanese corporations.
It also included a seminar ‘Business and Investment Opportunities in Qatar through the QFC’, where senior officials provided an overview of the multi-billion-dollar investment opportunities available to businesses in Qatar, as well as the unique benefits of setting up a business at the QFC platform.
During the roadshow, a memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed between the QFC and the Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA), to promote future collaboration and further enhance business relations between Qatar and Taiwan.
The event was attended by senior representatives from the QFC; Bureau of Foreign Trade of the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA); TAITRA; Financial Supervisory Commission, Executive Yuan; Institute for Information Industry; and Startup Terrace (SME Administration, MOEA).
The Japan Roadshow featured B2B meetings and a seminar ‘Invest in Qatar’. Participants included representatives from the Japan External Trade Organisation (JETRO), Japan Co-operation Center for the Middle East, Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation and MUFG Bank.
The 2019 Taiwan and Japan roadshows come as part of the QFC’s efforts to further highlight the solid economic and trade relationship that exist between Qatar and the two nations, and to support Taiwanese and Japanese companies looking to expand their business in Qatar and Middle East and North Africa.
Sheikha Alanoud bint Hamad al-Thani, managing director (Business Development), QFC Authority, said Qatar’s economy is recognised as one of the fastest growing economies in the world, and while this offers an abundance of investment opportunities, the QFC provides a competitive business framework to facilitate market access to businesses wishing to expand to the region.
Highlighting that the QFC is at present home to over 760 businesses from around the globe, she said more than 70 of these firms are Asian companies and Asia remains an important market to Qatar and home to the country’s top five trading partners.
"We are eager to see the new alliances with Taiwan and Japan arising from these roadshows and look forward to welcoming them to our platform,” she added.
Finding immense potential in Qatar, Venessa Chang, deputy executive director of TAITRA, said, "We expect that through the MoU signed by QFC and TAITRA, the bilateral co-operation between Qatar and Taiwan in the trade and industry fields could be further facilitated.”
Observing that Qatar is aggressively promoting business in sports sector in various ways, Masaru Nishiura, director of Middle East Africa Division, JETRO, said, "We expect more collaborations between Qatar and Japan”.
